One Sweet Day
by Kurama-san92
Summary: Kurama is taken to Makai in the past by someone. He runs into Youko for help and into a girl who seems to be human and lost. But is there more to this girl than what they think? What's her purpose? Story is better than it sounds. I promise.
1. Sent To Makai

K.S.: This is my first fic, people. Note that someone like me is kind of in an awkward position. So don't expect a perfect story. Don't get me wrong! I did this in the best way that I could.

K.S.: Well, onto the story! Enjoy!

Ch. 1 Sent to Makai

_Hear my words, O Lord;_

_Listen to my sighing_

_Hear my cry for help_

_My king, my God_

_To you I pray, O Lord_

_At dawn you will hear my cry_

_At dawn I will plead before you and wait._

The skies were grey and thunder roared through the atmosphere. Rain began to pour down from one place. The rain soon spread as the wind carried the black clouds across, covering the land. Many apparitions were already sheltered, avoiding the storm. Still, many didn't mind the rain and stood alone as they allowed Mother Nature to soak them completely.

That was normal weather at Makai, or the Demon World. It was basically representing the meaning of this land, dark and hazardous. Throughout the lands, there were portals and rifts that led to other worlds, such as the human or spirit world.

Most of the rifts were blocked by a barrier held up by the Spirit Realm so as to not have any dangerous apparitions enter the other two realms. But only very few, which were well-hidden for only a strong apparition to find, were allowed to pass through. But it was hardly likely since no demon has ever found those kinds of rifts.

Somehow, a rift was opened, allowing a human teen to pass through. It was opened by a mysterious person that the boy had run across back in the human realm. A turn of events showed that he shouldn't have bothered to follow him, for now he was at a completely different world. He didn't know that just yet.

He was currently knocked out, luckily lying in a small cave. But even though he didn't get soaked, there were cracks on the top that allowed some water to seep through.

The rain struck the ground with its mighty force. The boy, known as Shuichi Minamino, or Kurama, was awakened by this pattern of rainfall, but he didn't open his eyes or move his body.

Right now, he thought that he was at home. He imagined things as if the incident had never happened. He hoped that he was still with his friends at the Mushyori City carnival, enjoying the wonderful events that took place, but he wasn't there. He was no longer at Mushyori City; he was no longer in Japan.

He wasn't in Ningenkai, also known as the Human World.

A little drop of water crawled along the rough side of the crack, hung for a bit, landed on his face, and rolled down his cheek. Another managed to fall on his nose, and sat where it was at.

He then slowly opened his emerald green eyes, eyes filled with the color of the greenest leaves made in the Amazons. But one would expect that with his specialty, he could make his plants like that, too.

Kurama slowly lifted his body up, but it took him sometime. His hands filled with pain every time he moved them. But once he was able to regain control, he rose up and stayed down on one knee. For a while, he waited until his vision has cleared. When it finally did, he looked at his surroundings.

He studied everything and noticed that he was near the mouth of the cave. It provided shelter for him from the rain. The rest of the cave was covered in shadow. It was hard for him to tell what was hiding in there with his eyes. He'd have to use his sixth sense, spirit awareness.

Then he glanced outside of the cave. He was in a forest, a forest that seemed familiar. But it was easy for him to tell at once where he was at.

It was because he already knew where he was at. He recognized the dark skies, he recognized the plants in the forest, and he recognized the scent of blood and death in the air,

He recognized his old home, Makai.

This was the home of the once-living cold-hearted thief that roamed the lands of this world with his partner-in-crime, Kuronue. Of course, that all had changed when the bat demon fell into a trap that had cost him his own life.

Kurama's eyes flashed wide open with the memory of Kuronue. He always tried his best to not remember that cold night, but he was always haunted by it. So many nights he had dreamt about that one event.

He'd always remember their close friendship, if only something could've happened to make things different, things better…

"No," Kurama muttered angrily. "I won't think about it!" he quickly shook his head and wiped his eyes from any tears that were about to fall on his face. He did not need anymore though of that. He had already mourned for him for many months, but still, he had the same nightmare about his death…

The wind moaned through the trees and the leaves waved gently by it. One leaf detached itself from the branch it once rested on, and slowly dropped down, flew into the mouth of the cave, and landed on the Kurama's red hair.

He placed one of his badly injured hands on his head and grabbed the leaf that fell, and then examined its appearances. It was somehow different from the ones in the human world. Much more different then those normal leaves that fall during autumn.

Yes, these leaves were familiar. There was no doubt that he had somehow made it to demon world. But something wasn't quite right.

Makai looked different than when he last saw it, but not in the kind of way that trees have grown, apparitions have become stronger, and new Lords have been replaced by their heir after they died (this is referring to Raizen and Yusuke).

It was different in a way that Makai's forest trees seemed as if the were younger, weaker apparitions roamed the world, and those great rulers who have died still live.

Yes, this place wasn't in the present, it was in the past. Kurama gasped.

He's traveled to the past!

"But how could I've gotten here?" he wondered. How could he have possibly gone to Demon World at a different time period? From what it was told, the entrance to this world was secured by a barrier known as the Kakai Barrier.

But if one were to do it himself, it would cost a lot of energy that could last for weeks (like how Itsuki did, though I don't think it took him weeks).

Could he have somehow got caught in a rift? But wait, has a rift ever taken him into the past?

That probably wasn't possible. At least, not to a demon who was aware of the purpose of most rifts.

The fox shut his eyes tightly while trying to look back and remember what happened exactly. Then his mind flash back to where he last remembered. He sat there as memory led him to the truth of what had happened…

_Flashback_

He hit the tree hard on his back and pain began to rush down his spine. His attacker was in a black cloak with his hood covering his face. He moved closer to the hurt redhead who was so close to dying.

Kurama fell on his knees, and then the rest of his body fell hard onto the cold and bloody soil. The ground that he was on was wet with his own blood. More of his red liquid came rushing down from the corner of his mouth, his lower leg, and in between his nearly sprained fingers.

His breathing was heavy and choppy, but the pattern was interrupted by a cough of blood allowing more to trickle down from his lips.

There was no hope for him. He was surely going to die. There was no strength left in him, no way for him to stand guard and defeat his enemy. No one was there to help him. He was there in the middle of a forest in Mushyori City being attacked, and none of his friends came.

Not even Hiei had answered his telepathic calls.

Kurama noticed the black cloak right in front of him. His gaze moved up to his attacker, and probably his murderer, who gave him a cold smile.

'_There was no there reason for one like you to live on this earth, anyways,' _the cold voice of the stranger whispered. _'You've let yourself down so many times, you've just let yourself down to a chance of more power.' _The stranger crouched down and captured the redhead's face with his bitter hand.

'_How foolish of you to turn down such power.'_

'_I don't know who you are,' _Kurama spoke slightly_, 'but there will be a day when I will send your black soul strait to Hell.' _

The stranger chuckled. _'Such words you speak, fox. Such words of hate for being so left out to others. You're so different in a way that only a few know of. They know of the demon spirit that rests within your body, fused with your mind.'_

He flipped Kurama's body so as to have the kitsune (_kitsune_-fox) lying on his back. The redhead groaned in pain from hitting his back hard once again.

'_However,' _the stranger continued, _'you've developed different feelings, one which happens to be love.' _His hand now covered his victim's heart. _'Such love you hold for your mother, I never thought that I'd see it for myself. A once cold and ruthless fox had developed something that should not have been in his heart.'_

The stranger's hand made its way onto the redhead's shoulder and down onto his forearm. With a smirk, he leaned forward and licked the spot. Kurama had no idea at first to what he was doing, but soon, burning pain came almost instantly at the spot to where he was licked.

When he was able to lift it, he could see a deep burn on his skin. It didn't bleed, but it did hurt.

'_Such a beautiful yet weak fox,' _the stranger's voice came. _'One with a fate near death, but with a horrible past and an unwritten future, there could be life ahead of you.'_

Kurama blinked. _'Wh-what do y-you mean?' _he stammered._ 'I-I don't understand.'_

'_You will soon, Kurama,' _the man replied. _'Very soon, it will come as clear as you can see me standing right in front of you.'_

He backed away from the fox as light started to surround him. Kurama could feel pain on his new burn, but more could be felt in his head. It felt like it was going to explode! Moments continued to pass by and Kurama's screams of agony were slowly fading along with the light.

The dimmer the light became, the easier it was to see that Kurama was no longer on the ground, standing up, or around. In fact, he wasn't anywhere near.

The stranger snickered. _'Alas, the beautiful redhead has to go through a hard time finding his way back…'_

_End of Flashback_

He remembered now. What he just looked back to in his mind was what really happened. Somehow, a strange man with such evil in him had brought him to the past at demon world. There was no telling what he would do to get back.

But who was that man? Or demon? Whatever it was, all Kurama could sense in him was darkness, evil, sin, and eagerness to kill.

Kurama felt a bit of pain rush through his arm, which slowly grew more painful. He raised his white sleeve to reveal the burn on his arm. Indeed, he had gone through all that, and was brought back here with major injuries and a burnt arm.

Oh how painful it was! How painful that burning watery tongue felt on his skin! He never thought that there would be so much pain in what he did. But what kind of person, or demon, could conjure such a thing? He'd never seen or heard of that before.

He stood up with the support of the cave's walls. It was a relief to finally stand up after being out for God knows how long.

God. Now he wondered about Him. He's heard of the miracles God had done for others, and they say that these miracles still happen today. Kurama wasn't sure if he's seen any of these miracles.

One miracle, or so he called, that has happened was when he used the Forlorn Hope, an artifact that grants you a wish in return for your life, to save his mother, nearly giving up his life, but then Yusuke Urameshi stepped in and insisted to have his life taken instead of his friend's. But in the end, it turned out that both of them were alive, and Kurama's wish had come true.

Was it God who let both him and Yusuke live? Or was it just a major coincidence? He really didn't know, and he didn't know what to believe had happened. One thing's for sure, everything turned out good in the end.

People wondered what he had believed in. They wondered if he believed in luck, in God, in Jesus Christ, or himself. (Youko considers himself powerful, does he not?)

He never replied to their questions, for he too wondered what he really believed in. There was not really much thought put into it for him. Unless one would look deep into his mind, he couldn't give an honest answer.

Kurama sighed. He had to figure out how to get back to the present. Everyone would worry and wonder where he's at, mainly think that he's dead. No one, except for maybe Hiei, would bring up the thought of him being in the past, not even Koenma.

Well, he couldn't just stand there feeling sorry for himself all day. He had to find a way to get back.

But how would he get back? Was there even a point for him to do so? Lately, he felt like a shadow whenever he walked through the bright streets, strangely like how Hiei felt, the fire demon does.

The kitsune never had those discussions with his friend about those sorts of things. Never had they even spoken once about it.

He began to walk out of the cave, ignoring the rain that began to soak him.

Kurama felt uncomfortable lately since his mother and friends kept on bringing up the topic of him having a girlfriend. Of course, one would expect that a handsome schoolboy like him would have had someone by now, but all he had was a fan girl club, which, many would add, he hated.

Love was cruel to him. His looks and personality attracted most females at first sight. But none of them made him interested in a serious relationship.

But, he had always wondered if there was someone worthy for him out there. He wanted a girl that was sweet, not an obsessive fan girl, loving, and smart. That's what he searched for in a girl.

So far, no luck. Even though he attracts mostly every girl he comes across, none of them fit in his main categories.

Suddenly, noises could be heard in the background. He stopped dead in his tracks to listen. Leaves rustled together by probably the wind or rain. After all, the storm _was_ intense. But no, it wasn't the weather.

It was probably demons attacking other demons. Yes, that was the usual routine, nothing really knew, unless of course the battle was against one of the lords of Makai.

He reached for the rose in his hair, ready to summon his rosewhip when needed. He had to keep his guard the entire time he was there. There was no telling what could happen to him.

Loud noises of punches and weapons clinging together could be heard coming closer. It was hard for him to concentrate with the rain, but he was able to concentrate. The battle was heading towards his direction now. But he was ready to defend himself, ready to stand guard.

Ready to fight back.

That's it for now! What'd you think? Take it easy on me. It's my first posted fic.

If you like it, please review. No flames, please!

I won't be updating for some time now. Well, not until maybe Monday. Happy Thanksgiving!


	2. Encounter with Counterparts

K.S.: Hi there! First off, I want to thank GoldenKitsuneHime13 for reviewing! Thank you soooooo much! I'm really hoping that I'll get more reviews. Right now, the excuse might be because of Thanksgiving. I know, I went to San Diego at my Aunt's House for a few days. I know that I said that I would update on Monday, but things changed and I came back home earlier. So, I was able to update earlier!

Disclaimer: It was my fault for not mentioning this in the first chapter. I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakuhso characters. I do, however, own upcoming OCs. (They'll be named in forther chapters, but the main OC will be named in Ch.4)

K.S.: Anothercharacter will be introduced in this chappie! Enjoy!

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Ch.2

Encounter with Counterparts

_I call upon you; answer me, O Lord_

_Turn your ear to me; hear my prayer._

_Show your wonderful love,_

_you who deliver with your right arm_

_those who seek refuge from their foes._

_Keep me as the apple of your eye;_

_Hide me in the shadow of your wings_

_From the violence of the wicked._

He backed away and was prepared for whatever he had to face. It was going to be difficult since he was severely injured on his leg, but he didn't worry about it. He waited as more sounds came from within the forest.

Suddenly, two lower-class demons appeared from behind the trees, running away from something. Kurama didn't know what. Maybe someone was going to kill him, and he was running for his life.

This was true. Something came zooming through the trees and hit the running apparition's head. At that second, it fell hard on the ground with a loud _thump! _Quickly, Kurama moved towards the defeated demon and noticed what was in its head, a rose.

The redhead's eyes widened by this, he wondered if it was possible. He could do the same, and so can Youko Kurama, his demon form. But could it really be…

A demon slowly approached him from behind, ready to strike, but couldn't when Kurama turned around and kicked his stomach and punched his face. It fell on the ground and struggled to get back up.

The demon growled as it tried to grab Kurama, but didn't as he had grabbed its head and twisted it quickly to the side. Loud cracks could be heard, and he tossed the corpse of the demon aside.

Then all of a sudden, demons appeared from all around and circled him. He was trapped.

Kurama stood in the middle and prepared for anything to happen. Though he was weak, he felt that he could defeat them and find his way out of demon world.

"Oh look, it's a human," one of them snickered. "It's been a while since I've seen a human enter our territory."

"Oh, yes," another agreed while licking its lips. "I haven't eaten a human in ages. It's about time that I satisfy my appetite."

"Do you want to die, human?" one with a big axe asked as if prepared to strike him any moment now. "Are you ready to die in the Demon World?"

"Forget it," the one next to it retorted. "You're wasting time! He's weak, now let's kill him!"

The others agreed as they approached the redhead teen. Kurama was prepared to summon his rose whip, lifting his arm up. He tried, but nothing happened.

Nothing happened! Oh, no! How come he couldn't summon his rosewhip? He was sure that he had enough energy to summon an attack, including his basic ones. If he couldn't summon his simple rosewhip, he was in trouble.

"What's the matter, human," the demon with the axe teased. "Did your pretty little rose let you down?"

He sweat dropped. There was nothing else for him to do. This would probably be a good time for a miracle from God. '_Oh dear Lord, help me,' _he prayed silently. Now, all he had to do was see what happens.

The apparition with the axe charged towards Kurama, ready to strike for him. He raised his axe high, lifting it above his head. The redhead covered his face with his arms and looked away with his eyes shut. There was a sound of gagging.

When he realized that he was still alive, he opened his eyes, lowered his arms, and looked at the attacking demon, or, once attacking demon. Now, it was an apparition with blood pouring from its mouth and eyes wide open. Pitiful, it died with its eyes opened like that. On his neck was a razor, sharp leaf. Kurama pulled it out of the flesh and examined it. This leaf was too familiar. He couldn't believe it!

The other demon stopped dead in its tracks. "W-where did that come from?" it shrieked. "Who killed him!"

"That would be me," a voice replied from behind a tree.

"Who are you?" an apparition asked as he stood cautiously on guard. "Show yourself!"

Mist began to envelope the demons and the redhead boy. A cold chill ran through Kurama's spine, feeling a bit scared from what he might encounter. The other demons stood where they were at, shouting curses with what was happening. Soon the haze had grown so thick that Kurama couldn't see anything at all, but he continued to hear the shouting demons somewhere in this fog.

Kurama stood where he was at and heard screeches and shouting somewhere near, or far from him, he did not know for sure. He constantly felt gusts of wind blow on him as if a car was speeding on the road and passed someone on the sidewalk. That could only mean that they were running.

But from what? What where they running from?

And why was that voice he heard so familiar?

He knew why. He's been talking to that voice for sixteen years now. Constant side conversation would start during classes between him and his counterpart. Some conversation just began because of boredom. Others just because of personal reasons.

Yes, it must've been him it could only- wait, scratch that, it _was _him. It was true that he traveled through time and that he'd be encountering demons, even the one who rested inside his own body.

Someone had grabbed his arm and pulled him through the mist. It was hard for him to make out who did since his eyes burned from the fog blowing on his eyes. He began to breathe hard; every breath was hard to catch with fresh air.

Rushing wind struck his face. His legs felt sore from moving so fast, especially the one with the gash. Every step seemed to have only opened the wound wider, causing him more pain.

The farther they went, the less amount of rain there was. Oddly, they rushed passed a point where there was no rain at all, just the dark clouds.

He was struggling to keep up. He wanted to stop and drop on the ground so as to get a short break to catch a couple of breaths. But whoever grasped him did not let go. They held on tightly and kept racing against the wind.

He was taken somewhere else in the forest, away from the previous battle he just went through, and was released from the person's grasp. The redhead fell hard onto the ground, gasping for air, exhausted from running.

Kurama continued panting, not looking up at who was in front of him. He didn't want to be sure yet. He didn't want to see him, since it was probably him. No, he just wanted a moment to calm down as he knew that the one in front of him standing was looking at the exhausted human.

"So, you are a male," a voice said with a grin. "I knew it."

The moment came, the moment when the redhead was to look up and really see him. He slowly lofted up his head and caught the gaze of his counterpart,

Youko Kurama.

The youko smirked. "Well, well, well, you seem a bit exhausted to have been able to kill all those apparitions. You might've just run instead of stand there, though I don't think a human would be able to escape from a demon so easily."

"How cruel fate has been to me," the redhead muttered, but to his misfortune, the kitsune heard.

"You sound so depressed, human," Youko chuckled. "I would guess since you're beaten up. Must've got caught in a bad fight."

This was the exact position that Kurama did not want to be in, laying flat on the ground with his counterpart looking down at him and teasing around. No longer could he stand these annoying statements after listening to some of them for sixteen years.

Slowly, the redhead tried to lift himself up, but it was useless. He was too tired from all the running. He couldn't lift another muscle in his body.

"Oh," Youko muttered with his eyebrow raised. "Well,there's no rush for me." He shrugged. "I guess we could camp out here for a night."

"WE!" Kurama shouted in disbelief. "Why won't you just kill me now? I'm of no use to you. I'm just one of your weak encounters!"

"Maybe," the youko frowned, "but there's no fun in killing your prey and skip all the fun in it. Besides, I have no intention of killing you. I just saved your life."

"So why do I have to camp out in the middle of Demon World with you?" Kurama inquired.

"First off, you can't move," Youko explained. "You would have to be waiting for a frikin' miracle if you want to be kept you alive. And don't think that you can escape, because you're not going to get anywhere in that condition."

"Perfect," Kurama muttered while resting his head on his arms.

Youko crossed his arms. "What's your name human?"

"Don't call me that anymore," Kurama warned. "And my name is Shuichi."

"Shuichi, eh," Youko repeated. "Well Shuichi, whether you like it or not, we're going to camp out here."

Kurama, or should I say, Shuichi's gaze followed the kitsune. "Where are you going?"

"To get some firewood." Youko turned around and looked at the redhead with a grin, "unless of course, you'd rather have me as warmth."

Shuichi remained speechless and flushed as a bad image came to mind. "N-no. Go ahead and find as much as you can." The redhead turned his head away as to not meet the kitsune's gaze anymore.

Youko chuckled and disappeared into the trees.

Later on that evening, Shuichi had been placed on a comfortable lying position with all of his wounds treated carefully (there was a bit of confusion from Youko and asked him how he got the burn in his arm, but Kurama told him that a fire apparition did it. He didn't want to mention his encounter with the man, yet.)

The fire right next to him danced as it supported him with warmth. Youko sat on the other side of it with his legs crossed with his back sloped as he stared at the flames. Every once in a while, he'd glance at the redhead and give him the usual smirk.

But that didn't do him any good.

Shuichi remained silent for the longest time, trying not to meet his counterpart's gaze. But that proved useless whenever he felt as if the kitsune was staring at him.

This felt uncomfortable for him since he was alone in the middle of Makai with someone like Youko, his other half.

But Shuichi tried to bring his thoughts back to what had happened earlier that day.

He'd never seen someone with such a calm expression while darkness rested within his own command. He had spoke in odd riddles with him and tried to tempt him into certain evil such as murdering, stealing, and fighting for power.

Power that shouldn't have even existed.

How that man knew that he was a kitsune was a hard question to answer. Somehow, he wasn't a normal being, neither demon nor human. By the looks of it, he seemed dead, but Shuichi saw him as clear as day. He seemed very much alive, but he really wasn't.

Pieces of his mind came together as he recalled when he first caught sight of the stranger.

Shuichi was at a carnival with his friends. Resident's were celebrating another special festival with food, shopping, and entertainment. It was one of those yearly festivals.

But he had somehow passed by the strangest person in the crowd.

The first thing he noticed was his ki (ki-spirit or energy). It felt strange and chilling. He'd never feltlike thatbefore.

To his surprise, the man had come up to the redhead and told him to follow him to a quieter place in the forest. With a moment's confusion and hesitation, he had done so. For some oddreason, he felt like he was being controlled while he moved. Maybe he was. The man could've placed him under a trance or spell.

Shuichi was impressed by his actions. It was wrong for him to have even noticed the man.

Who was that man? Why was he able to have him follow him to the forest? What did he mean when he said that life could be ahead of him? These were questions that he wished he could answer.

Maybe he could, one day. He just couldn't answer them now.

Youko, who had watched the redhead human get lost in thought, frowned after not getting answer from him.

"Shuichi, I asked you something," he repeated impatiently.

The human glanced towards the silver Youko who continued. "Don't just lay there staring at the sky. It's starting to bug me."

Shuichi blinked multiple times before sighing and, once again, meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry. What is it you asked me, Youko?"

Youko growled. "I said, 'would you like me to get more firewood?'"

By then Shuichi noticed the flames were almost out. "Uh, if you wouldn't mind, yes I would."

The silver kitsune stood up and walked into the trees. The redhead watched him move farther away until he had completely been swallowed up in darkness.

He sighed deeply and moved around until he was in a comfortable position. The last bit of the flames barely provided warmth. It really only provided very little light.

The air of the demon world felt cold. The chili breeze struck the redhead. He continued to stare at the stars and wonder how he was going to return to the present. It was not going to be an easy task, but he would to find someone to help him out. If he were to have Youko help him out, he'd have to tell him sooner.

But that would be a difficult task.Would you think that it would be easy telling someone that you werethe smae peopleand you come from the future? (Believe me, if that were to happen to me, I would be freaked.) It was going to be harder since Youko was a demon, a demon that still lives in his cold-hearted life.

The redhead shut his eyelids and quickly drifted into sleep.

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K.S.: Alright! There's chapter two for you! Please, PLEASEreview, and don't flame me. Love Ya!

Kurama-san92


	3. Mukuro's Messenger, Hiei

K.S.: Chapter 3, people! Once again, I'd like to thank my reviewers for reviewing. Still, I'm hoping to get more reviews, or I'll set limits to each chapter with the number of reviews I request. If I don't, I won't update another chapter. Right now, I'll just see if anyone else will review (sorry to those who did review!)

K.S.: I got a review that said that Youko was acting a bit OOC. I'd like to add the fact that there _might _be some OOCness from certain characters, though I don'tmean do it intentionally. (Thanks to my reviewerfor pointing that out)

K.S.: There's one more thing. I have been stupid in the past two chapters. The passages in the beginning of each are passages from the bible. I'm not a philosophizer. I felt so messed up fro the past few days. Right now, I'm too tired to say where the passages are from. later on, I should post them up. I guess it's because I've been feeling sick for the past two days. I've puked a couple of times (sorry for that bit of information), and my stomach hurts like Hell. Well, here's chapter 3 for just in case I don't update for a while.

Disclaimers: Once again (just so I don't forget), I don't own any of our favorite Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I do own other OCs that will be introduced earlier (I'm gonna add to this disclaimer later on. If I say now, I'll spoil the story.)

K.S.: On with chapter three!

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Ch.3 Mukuro's Messenger, Hiei

_Deliver me, Lord, from the wicked;_

_Preserve me from the violent,_

_From those who plan evil in their hearts,_

_Who stir up conflicts everyday,_

_Who sharpen their tongues like serpents,_

_Venom of asps upon their lips._

_-Psalm 140 verse2-4_

The kitsune traveled on his own through the dark forests of Makai. Cold wind enveloped his entire body from head to toe. Darkness had covered the entire demon world. Many apparitions slept soundlessly at a safe place while all the other night apparitions waited to find a lost demon pass by them and kill them.

Youko continued down a pathway that he had discovered while searching for some more firewood. So far, no luck. All he could find were leaves and mud.

The night was quiet, so that left him to sort out his thoughts.

Many things ran through his head, his next raid, the death of his partner-in-crime Kuronue, and the human that he had discovered.

He wondered who this human was. Something in him crept like an ant walking helplessly around in his mind. It said that somehow there was a connection between him and the human. There was no real explanation as to why, but he was going to have the human explain somehow.

Youko growled and stopped abruptly. Movement caught sound to his sensitive ears. Someone was following him. At this time of night. Who would dare bother him at this time of night?

He was annoyed at first, not minding what kind of an apparition it might be, but then that soon changed.

An apparition appeared in front of the fox demon within a blink of an eye. This apparition, however, was someone familiar.

He had spiky hair, with a streak of some white balanced in the middle. Crimson eyes reflected from the slight moonlight that peeked through the trees. But even with that little light, you could tell that he was wearing all black.

"Hello Hiei," Youko greeted with a grin. He had rarely had the fire koormine run into him, but why he had come to him now, he did not know. "What brings your lead-commanding self to this part of Makai?"

"Shut up, Fox," Hiei growled, "I've come to deliver a message from Mukuro."

"Oh." Youko was now fully listening, interested in what the little koormine had to say. "Go on."

"She wants to know about your next raid."

By this, the youko's eyes were wide open. His eyebrows were knitted, showing an expression of confusion. "Why would she want to know about that?"

"She has a proposition for you to seek something she's been looking for," Hiei explained. "She wishes to tell you about it soon so that you could locate it before the other two lords find out about it, too."

"Oh, well what is it she wants me to find?" the fox inquired

Hiei was silent for a few moments, and then disappeared before Youko could protest about the silence currently bothering him.

Within the trees, he heard swords slicing, and something screaming loudly, followed by a gush of rich, red liquid.

The disgusting blood of an apparition splattered onto a tree and deep into the soil. Hiei returned moments later with his katana in his hand.

"Don't think that I'm going to tell you something with scums eavesdropping from behind the trees." He grinned and wiped the blood on the blade with his black cloak.

"Of course," Youko murmured in agreement.

There was another brief moment of silence as both of the demons tried to sense for any other apparitions that could be hiding around them. There was nothing.

Pleased with his results, Hiei continued. "Have you ever heard of Hell's Black Gates?"

Youko blinked multiple times, before realizing he had. "As a matter of fact, yes I have." He paused for a moment. "What about it?"

"If you'd let me finish, I'd be glad to explain," the fire demon said irritably.

Youko chuckled. He would expect for someone like Hiei to respond like that since it was in his nature. It was rare to see the fire demon smile, but that was only when he was either amused with his fighting skills, or when he was with his sister, Yukina. "I'm sorry, please go on."

"Hn," was Hiei's usual reply. "Mukuro wishes for you to seek its location."

"Wh-what," Youko said with a bit of surprise. He then frowned and growled, "That rift doesn't even exist! What kind of game is Mukuro playing at here!"

"That is what she wants to speak to you about," Hiei added before the kitsune could say anything else.

"I see," Youko murmured with a frown. "Now she's speaking in riddles about something that doesn't exist."

"She said that Christian ningens believe that there is a Hell and such gates that lead those souls who have lived a harsh life to the flames of the underworld."

"Christians?" Youko repeated. He didn't know what it was, but he has heard that term somewhere. "What in Makai are Christians?"

Hiei frowned. "Unfortunately, I'm not here to explain everything to you. That's Mukuro's job, only if you meet her at her castle." He paused as he watched the kitsune think for the longest time.

Youko thought back to his meetings with Mukuro. Actually, he hardly ever did meet the lord during anytime. She was always busy, commanding her armies or training with her first-in-command, Hiei.

No one would be able to confront a demon lord unless it was for a good purpose or they had sent you to their lair. Requests like this from one of them were vary rare. Youko only assumed that she wanted him to do this task because of his main specialty, thievery. That is, if she wanted him to steal something

The kitsune chuckled. It was true, missions like these were dangerous, but when was there a time that he didn't go through anything dangerous? This place _was_ danger. All of _Demon World_ was danger. There was no safe place, except for those areas that are well-protected by a demon.

He's been going on raids for years. By now, he was a legend, a legend that no demon would ever forget. His name was clear hand haunted to the weak and pitiful. He was beautiful, yet deadly, very deadly. He could kill any weak apparition for pleasure without even using the most basic of his attacks. Every once in a while, a very strong apparition would step up and battle the kitsune. Their main goal was to kill him.

_Every_ demon's main goal was to kill him.

"Fox," Youko heard the fire demon growl impatiently. "I'm getting tired of standing here with _you_ standing there and staring at nothing but dirt!"

'_This is the usual behavior of a fire demon,' _he thought to himself with a mental chuckle. "Forgive me for making you so impatient, Hiei. I didn't think that there were better things for one like you to do other than waste all of the good kills."

"Hn," Hiei answered as a reply.

The wind moaned as it brushed against the two demons. That gave Youko an easier way to pick up the sounds nearby carried by it. Hiei used his Jagan, or the third eye on his forehead, to see where any nearby apparitions were currently at.

At that second, the two demons jumped into the air, looking back down at a group of demons who have managed to run into each other, missing their main target. To no surprise, some of those demons had killed one another. Others had killed themselves.

Both Youko and Hiei landed silently on a tree nearby the apparition crowd. Hiei's katana was drawn, ready for a kill. Youko had pulled out a rose from his silver hair, prepared to summon his main attack, the rosewhip.

One apparition looked around dumbly, looking for its disappearing targets. "Where did those two demons go off to?"

"Do you even know who they _are_?" another reminded it.

The other demon nodded. "Of course I do! One is Mukuro's messenger, also the wielder of the Black Dragon. The other is the legendary bandit, Youko Kurama!"

"And I give my prey the most memorable death to them," a dark voice said from within the trees. The other demons turned around, feeling the fear run up their spines. The tall, handsome kitsune moved out of the shadows and showed his usual grin, but not just any grin, the grin that shows that he is prepared for a violent kill.

"Y-Youko Kurama!" one stammered as he began to move backwards, forgetting about the fox demon's special ability. In an instant, a razor-sharp leaf was dug deep into his skull in between its yellow eyes. Blood began seeping through his head and mouth with each drop landing on the cold earth. The lifeless demon's corpse then fell onto the ground with a loud thump.

"There's no chance that I'm going to let you're pathetic souls live any longer," Youko spoke in that dark tone that one would here when he was ready for a kill. He held a red rose out, and summoned his rosewhip. Before the demons could do anything, he disappeared from in front of them.

"He vanished," another shrieked. It was on all fours, gripping onto his weapon tightly. He looked out for the approaching youko with the others standing on guard.

"You're a coward," his companion told him while glancing at the fearful apparition. "I can't believe we let you live."

"I can change that," Youko chuckled from around them.

"Where are you, Youko Kurama!" The leader grasped tightly onto the handle of his axe.

Only an evil snicker could be heard. The group of apparitions stood in their most defensive position, ready for any surprise attacks. However, they were wrong. None of them had strong enough senses to notice the demons nearby them.

"Gotcha." Youko reappeared behind the demon on the ground, and attacked it multiple times his rosewhip. In an instant, it was dead.

Another apparition snuck up behind him ready to strike. But before it could do anything, it felt a cold blade slice it from top to bottom in half. The two separate halves of the corpse fell on the ground letting rich blood soak the soil.

The fox turned to look over his shoulders, finding Hiei standing with his sword covered in blood. The fire demon brought the blade to his mouth and licked the red liquid. Later, the result was a frown.

"Only garbage," he muttered. Youko grinned while flashing his fangs. The group of apparitions trembled. They were afraid now of what these two more powerful demons were going to do to them.

Youko and Hiei stood side by side and began to dangerously approach the frightened group, weapons gripped tightly in their fists.

The group backed off as far as possible until they were against a rock. One glanced up to notice that they were cornered at a base of a cliff. It gulped hardly as it glanced forward, watching their opponents strode towards their directions.

Hiei held up his katana and Youko was prepared to use his rosewhip. He turned his body a bit to the right, holding up his right arm, and ready to strike. The group could only watch as the cold blade and a vine with thorns tore them violently into pieces.

A loud sound of booming thunder erupted through the loud screeching from the dying demons. The thunder roared for a long time as if the wind was carrying it throughout every part of the horizon.

The fox and the fire demon stood still, their backs were facing each other from their own distance. Their eyes were focused on the ground and guts that were splattered from tree bark to rock to soil. The silence wasn't broken for a while, until Hiei stuck out his hand on time to catch a rain drop. Another fell on Youko's ear, which gave a slight twitch.

Hiei sighed quietly.

"Show me the human you found yesterday."

Youko's ears pricked up by the fire demon's command. He wondered how he knew about him, but then remembered about Hiei's Jagan Eye, the eye that sees all. Youko nodded in approval and they both jumped high.

Hiei leaped from tree to tree while Youko sped through the trees on low ground. The trees rustled from the wind that struck their bodies, which continued to grow stronger, as if it was trying to blow the demons off their feet.

The route to the campsite was short. It didn't take very long, except for the two or three interferences they got from desperate apparitions who wanted to kill. They were easy kills for them. Just a few lashes from a blade and a whip, and their opponents were dead.

Youko stopped quickly, and walked a few feet away from the trees to where Shuichi lied fast asleep. Hiei appeared right next to him, looking down at the human.

Shuichi was sleeping on his side, his back on the two demons. Red hair sprayed on a pile of leaves that his head rested on. One of his arms was wrapped around his waist. The other was lying near his head. His breathing was steady, but Youko's sensitive ears could pick up its gentle pattern.

"How did this human enter the Demon World?" Hiei inquired with his eyes wide, scanning the features of this redhead human.

"I don't know," Youko responded. "I had found him in the middle of a battle with lower class apparitions. It looked like he was trying to fight them somehow." He chuckled. "The poor human could've died of I hadn't seen him."

Hiei smirked. "This is something that Mukuro wouldn't allow to be true. If she knew that a human entered our world through a rift, she'd have me and her army scouring for an opening throughout the entire realm."

"That's a shame," the kitsune joked. "I would hate to have to look that long for something that could have disappeared."

"My point exactly."

Thunder continued to roar in the background, though it did not begin to rain. The storm clouds looked like it was about t clear up soon. If Youko had to, he'd move the campsite to another area. The only thing that he pondered about was if Shuichi would wake up easily. The fox demon hated when it takes him ten minutes to wake a person up.

They heard a moan escape from the Shuichi's lips as he turned to lay flat on his back. He sighed deeply before continuing his normal breathing pattern.

"I really hope that you would save yourself some time and not inform Mukuro about this human being here in the Demon World," Youko added while looking down at the human.

Hiei jumped onto a tree and landed softly onto its branch. Youko looked up at him, waiting for an expected response.

"Unlike some apparitions, I'm not gullible enough to speak of things to others that would waste my time. I have no intention of informing this to Mukuro at all. If she finds out another way, I really don't care, but I'm not in custom to share such precious information."

"Of course," Youko agreed. Hiei looked over his shoulder to look at the fox demon eye to eye. "You never told me if you were going to meet Mukuro about her ordeal."

"Ah, yes," the kitsune muttered. He thought over for a while, wondering if he should meet Mukuro and accept this task. Goodness knows what she might have in store for the legendary bandit, but he had nothing else to do. He could find a way to abandon the human and accept this challenge.

There was not much for him to do, anyways.

"Tell her I'll be there."

"When?"

"Whenever I feel like confronting a lord of Makai," he answered. Youko wasn't sure if he should give a specific time and date, but all Mukuro had to do was expect him anytime.

"Very well," Hiei noted to himself. He turned his head as to no longer meet Kurama's gaze.

"This is a wise decision that you've made. I believe that she's got a real challenge in store for the 'Legendary Bandit Youko Kurama'. Consider that a promise."

And with that, Hiei disappeared into the forest.

Youko Kurama stared at the spot that the fire demon had previously stood at, sighed, and turned to look back at Shuichi. The human didn't move from his previous position, but he did seem to be sleeping well. At last, one thing that he didn't have to worry about.

He looked around and found a tree nearby the fire (The fire was able to replenish itself… huh… is that even possible? Well, if it isn't, it doesn't matter! This _is_ my story.) While grumbling to himself about even saving Shuichi in the first place, he slumped against the base of it and crossed his arms. Even though he did seem to be asleep, Youko had to be sure that the human wouldn't run off and get killed on his own. Then that would mean that he wasted a good fifteen minutes saving the humans life when he could've stolen another rare artifact!

That was disappointing for him.

Then a thought dawned on him. He slowly gathered his energy up in his hand. Once he felt that he had enough, he touched the cold earth, and allowed his trick to go at work.

He had his demon energy controlling the plants surrounding the campsite for about half a mile. At least he thought that that was enough. That meant that if Shuichi were to escape, his plants would stop him since they were controlled by his own demon energy.

While smirking to himself, satisfied for formulating a good plan in such a short time, he shut his eyes and fell asleep.

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K.S.: There's chapter three! Hmm... I don't know when I'm gonna update a new chapter. Right now, I'm loaded with tests this week. I'll try before the end of the week, but I can't promise that.

K.S.:Once again, please review (and no flames) Thanks!

Kurama-san92


	4. The Mysterious Newcomer

K.S.: Okay... I did not feel like putting another psalm(or quote thingy). Might as well stop putting them up... Anyways, Keep up the reviewing! I'm really liking all those reviews from my reviewers!

K.S.: Well, I wanted to post this chapter up befire the holidays. It ain't the best, though I may add. A girl will be mentioned, but her name will not be given until the next chapter. (this chapter might be bad for the phrase 'the girl' being used a lot. Oh well, I'm trying to keep my story interesting!

K.S.: I do not own the Yu Yu Hakusho characters (as everyone knows) I only own the girl. (I wouldn't say that I own the demons or the new guy, either...) Well, enjoy!

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Ch.4

The Mysterious Newcomer

Our two 'heroes' continued to rest in a better part of the Demon World, but deep in another part of this realm, a girl, who was badly injured from an attack, tried to escape farther from where her attackers came from.

She crawled on the muddy ground. Her leg was injured severely, and one of her arms had a five-inch deep gash. Rain pounded fiercely into the ground, and thunder boomed in the background. It was a relief that she had barely made it out alive…

She managed to grab onto a root and pulled herself a few inches forward. It was not much help, but she was going to move at her own pace. More rain kept on pounding itself on her back and head. Water fell down the ends of her brown hair that was kept up in a ponytail. She lusted for someone to come and find her, desperate for hospitality. The bad thing was that no one heard her cry from within the rolling thunder.

It seems as if Mother Nature was against her. There was hardly any chance for this young girl to go anywhere else alive. No one was going to find her, and there was probably no doubt that she would die.

The girl didn't pay attention to any of Fate's calls to her. Instead, she was remembering what had happened to her back at the demon territory, guarded by the most fearsome creatures. These weren't just any demons; they were demons of darkness, demons of death,

Demons from Hell.

_Flashback_

The skies were dark and the wind was cold, carrying sings of death with the scent of blood. Trees stood tall, but they were hollow and probably lifeless. The clouds covered every part of the land. There were no traces of life, well, some with demons of Makai, but not with the other species of demons.

Demons from Hell were known to be feared by the Catholic and Christian groups. These creatures once roamed the demon world, but were soon defeated in a war, the Great Makai War, that was held thousands of years ago. Still, they roamed in a forbidden and unknown area to most demons of Makai. They guarded Hell's Black Gates.

The girl, who _appeared_ (Hint hint on the italics with that word) to be around the age of fifteen or sixteen, hid behind a tree at a safe distance from the demons. She watched the evil creatures walk back and forth sniffing the air for any scents of an intruder. Thanks to the trees, which had the disgusting odor of the demons, they couldn't smell the girl from nearby.

She slowly moved her head to the side of the bark while grabbing a branch and lifted it so that she could see more of what she was facing. A demon stopped a few feet in front of her. Its skin was flaming red and its eyes were yellow with some traces of crimson. The demon had its back arched forward so that the girl could visibly see its spine. It also had long fingers with sharp-looking nails and long legs that were kept bent as if trying to stand low.

The appearances of these demons were repulsive, but that was just one type of the Hell Demon species. There was another that the girl had spotted near her once. It looked like a canine with barely any skin for support and the most fearsome look on its face ever. Canine demons kept their eyes wide open and teeth flashing so that one would see every sharp fang in its mouth. It was quite a repulsive sight, but the girl didn't dare show any signs of fear.

When some demons had moved away, she scurried and hid behind a clump of bushes. She knelt down on one knee and peeked through the leaves to see if the area was clear. Nothing was in the way.

Once again, she moved forward, but this time, she hid behind a pile of boulders. Actually, it wasn't a good spot since two canine demons had begun to approach her. The girl began to shake in fear, and wondered what would happen next.

She tried to figure a way to hide herself from them, until she spotted a small cave formed by the massive rocks. Quickly and cautiously, she crawled inside and moved away from the mouth of the small cave. The two canines looked towards the direction of the cave, and then both walked away.

The girl sighed with relief, but then she accidentally kicked a rock that rolled out of the small cave. By this, one of the demons looked back. With a loud eerie growl, it began to walk over to the cave. It began sniffing around the outside of the cave, until it picked up a different scent. It gave another growl and began moving inside.

The girl was wide-eyed with fear as she backed up against the rocks and hugged her folded legs. She could see the nose peeking through the darkness. It moved closer and closer, but then a loud horn call erupted through the atmosphere. Immediately, the demon's attention was focused on the disturbance, and it left. It had completely forgotten about the intruder.

The girl peeked out through the mouth of the cave and saw that all the demons had retreated to nearby the gates. She crawled out and moved forward to where they gathered, but still remained cautious about being noticed.

The sight of a cave caught her attention. She stopped abruptly and turned to move towards the cave. Then she stopped at the mouth of the cave, debating in her mind if she should go in or not.

At long last, she slowly stepped into the darkness, and soon stepped on the ground that felt a bit higher than the previous one. She looked to see that she was in front of a staircase. Maybe that would help her get somewhere. Immediately, she ran up the stone steps that turned in different directions.

The stairs led her into a small dark chamber that had no light, except for the light that came from a small opening in the wall. The girl slowly moved forward and peeked through the hole. There, she saw every demon gathered up, but they were a few stories lower (doesn't sound right, but you get the idea). They all chorused a roar of such desire for death. Many danced in a way as if cheering for someone.

The girl looked around them to see if she could find whatever they were cheering at. She saw nothing.

Finally, she caught sight of a hooded figure, slowly walking through the crowd of demons which all faced the approaching stranger and continued to cheer. The figure stood up a rock and faced the demons, which then fell silent. The girl leaned in closer to hear if the newcomer would speak.

"_A new era dawns on us,"_ the figure said, which sounded much like a man's voice. Still, the voice sounded cold, so cold that the girl already felt scared to be there.

"_We are to once again,"_ the man continued, _"take control of both the Demon and the Human world, and not let the Spirit World get in our way!"_

The demons roared in agreement, and the chorusing cheer echoed through the tall room.

"_Those Spirit World trash creatures will not have a chance once they try to outnumber my power. I will not let them conquer our freedom and will to seek for human flesh and dark hearts. Humans have developed this will of darkness that not even Angels from Heaven could control it. It is because of the humans that we have returned."_

The girl cringed slightly and began to digest this new given info. The Hell Demons have finally risen to kill those who have trapped them in their own darkness. It was hard to tell whether there was a chance to once again save humanity.

The hooded figure raised his hands above his head and began to speak louder.

"_This world that we have lived in showed our true character as being strong and wicked. We have the power to take over these nations, these worlds, these realms."_ The figure lowered his arms, but continued speaking. _"Let them once again rest in Hell!"_

At this point, the girl once again stood up to look through the hole and spot the demons. They continued to cheer wildly. It seemed as if this man's (or is it even a man?) words were very powerful and meaningful. The girl would have to agree just by the sound of his voice.

The hooded figure waited for the sound to die down, and then snickered once it did.

"_My friends, I believe that we must be extra careful with what we say next time for we have someone listening to what we are saying. We have an intruder in our territory!"_

The girl gasped, giving herself away. The hooded figure looked up at the hole that she was looking through. Every other demon also looked up and roared angrily.

"_Kill her_," the hooded figure commanded. The girl immediately turned and ran. As she went down the steps, she could hear the roars of the demons behind her. They must have somehow gone through the hole. But the girl made no attempt to look back.

She finally exited through the mouth of the open cave entrance and dashed in the trees. The demons moved closer to the girl. She began panting, but she continued to run far. Finally, a demon tackled her to the ground, and scratched her arm. The girl pushed it off and began to move away.

A canine demon bit her leg, and she screamed in pain. With an attempt of kicking him, she was let free. The girl continued to run through the trees, but she heard more demons following behind. She glanced over her shoulder to see the following group, and then turned around to see that she was running to the side of the cliff. Immediately, she stopped herself before she could fall. Below the cliff was a river, a river that had a strong current.

She looked at the river with wide-eyes. It was probably not a good idea to get in, but when she looked back to see the approaching bloodthirsty demons coming closer, she jumped into the river.

The heavy current carried her into its path. The girl continued trying to swim to shore, but it was useless with the strong current. She swam to the surfaced and attempted to grab a bit of air for she was once again pulled into the water.

It was hard for the girl to swim to the surface, but she had finally managed to grab a rock and crawl on shore. Once she got up, she felt the rain pouring on her. She screamed in agony as she felt her body erupt in pain.

_End of Flashback_

The demons had managed to injure her badly. Still, the girl continued onward. There was a growl nearby, and she stopped moving. Another low growl echoed through the rain and the girl laid still.

Then a canine jumped from behind and failed to grab its target as she rolled over. She quickly got up after feeling pain in her legs and tried running. But it felt useless. She felt like she was going to collapse and pass out. Suddenly, she felt wetness engulf her as she tumbled down.

She swam to the surface and grabbed a floating piece of wood (huh? A random floating piece of wood?...aww, don't complain!). The group of demons stopped at the edge of the riverbank as they watched their victim float away. With a few growls of disappointment, they turned and disappeared into the darkness.

The girl managed to get on the floating wood as the river began to calm itself. She sighed as she closed her eyes.

"I do not know what will happen to me now," she murmured. "Hopefully, this will not be the end."

And she fell unconscious as she continued to drift in the river.

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K.S.: Okay, that was a shorter chapter than the ones before. Well, the story will get a lot better! I promise! Please review, and no flames!


	5. The Lost Girl

K.S.: Here's chapter five! (I fixed it up a bit cause I posted it last night) Well, thanks again to my readers and reviewers! Please enjoy the story as it continues!

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. I do own the girl in this chapter and further recognized characters.

K.S.: Enjoy!

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Ch. 5

The Lost Girl

"Hurry up, Shuichi!" the redhead heard Youko call out. Shuichi groaned and tried to concentrate on moving forward. His eyelids felt heavy and his body was still sore. They continued traveling further into the forest.

That morning, the sun began to creep up from behind the mountains. As it rose higher, more of its light reflected on the surface of the Demon World earth. Night apparitions already hid into the darkness, avoiding the morning daylight. Other apparitions who didn't mind the light roamed freely.

This day was one of the days where sunlight manages to shine without being covered by the thundering clouds, though to most demons it was off for something like this to happen.

Youko stopped and turned to face the sunrise. He had never in his entire life witnessed the sun rising or setting. During those days, he never really had time to do anything like watching the stars or the moon shine brightly in the sky (since they too are mostly covered by the clouds).

The fox demon sighed. "The sun's actually not hiding behind the clouds anymore."

The redhead stopped and blinked a couple of times before turning to face the sunset, too. From where he was standing, the light shone on the ground as it peeked through the trees and its leaves. He too never really took time to witness such magic during this time of day, but he had on the days that he would muse about certain events.

"How is it that the clouds have cleared up a bit?" he asked out loud, so that the fox eight feet in front of him could hear. There was no immediate answer as he shifted his gaze to his demon counterpart. From where Youko was standing, there were not much trees or plants standing in his way, so that the light actually shone on his pale face.

Shuichi watched as Youko continued to stare at the bright star. He seemed to not be paying attention to anything else in the world. His focus was completely concentrated on the bright light.

"Must've been the rain," Youko finally answered. "Maybe a lot of the precipitation has left the clouds through the rainfall. It has been raining for three days strait."

"Ah…" Shuichi murmured as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Youko continued to stare at the sun, his eyes furrowed in deep concentration. _'It's as if someone with a pure heart and the ability to control the light has entered Demon World. The sky never really clears up and the sun never shines.'_ He looked back at the redhead human who remained far behind. He was still exhausted and upset for him having to wake up early just to get a headstart.

He smirked when he remembered Shuichi complaining, asking questions like 'why so early', and 'headstart going where'. That second question was not really something that Youko was going to answer. He kept his mouth shut about his expected visit to Mukuro's palace.

'_Maybe we've entered a different part of Demon World' _he thought. _'This isn't normal. I bet that other apparitions think the same.'_

"Are we even in Demon World?" Shuichi inquired. He too had never expected to see sun in a place such as the demon world. Never in a millennium.

"Hard to say," answered the youko. Then he looked his surroundings more closely, studying each plant carefully. Finally, he growled in disappointment when he realized the truth.

"No…" he answered quietly, winning the exhausted redhead's attention. Youko turned to face him. "This isn't the Demon World that we were at last night."

"Then where are we?" Shuichi asked, now standing fully awake. "If this is not Demon World, then where are we, and how did we get here over the night?" He stood as he watched the kistune stand there, staring right passed him.

"We _are _in Demon World," he answered impatiently. "It's just not a place that I'm familiar with. In fact, I don't think any apparition has ever been in a place like this." He sighed and faced the sun again. "As for your other questions, I'm not really sure I can answer them. I don't think it's really possible to just be taken from one place to another while we were sleeping."

Shuichi blinked. "What if an apparition conjured up something that had sent us to another place?"

"No," Youko replied with a sigh. "Last night, I marked the entire area as part of my territory," he looked at Shuichi and grinned. "I didn't want you to run off at night like that."

"Wonderful," Shuichi murmured irritably. "Well, I guess that means that you didn't trust me before."

"Exactly," Youko responded. "I don't necessarily trust those that I've just met. It takes a long time for one as weak and pathetic as you to earn my trust. I _still_ don't trust you, and I won't until you stop acting so lazy like how you are right now!" He frowned when he noticed the redhead smirking in satisfactory. "Come to think of it, I may never come to trust you."

Their arguing was soon interrupted when a flash of bright light appeared from up in the sky, blinding both of them. The sky was shining bright green, reflecting upon the shallow earth. Both of them tried covering their eyes, but couldn't as a screech had broken the awkward silence. It sounded like nails scratching a school board, quite annoying and deafening.

"What the…" Shuichi started off, but was cut off as a gust of wind blew both the demon and the human off of their feet, both landing flat on their backs on the dirt. The light only grew brighter and the noise was irritating their ears. Shuichi cracked an eye open and looked up at the blinding sky. There he saw something-or someone falling down from where the source came from.

Then all at once, the light and screeching noise stopped almost as quickly as it came. Both Youko and Shuichi remained speechless on the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Youko asked while feeling quite irritated for the whole scene. The redhead next to him didn't answer as he heard water splash from a certain distance. This too caught Youko's attention, and they looked at each other. They both nodded in approval, and disappeared from the current spot, bolting forward through the trees.

By then, Youko noticed the sky. He looked up to see clouds covering every inch of the atmosphere. There wasn't a sign of the once-shining star anywhere to be seen. _'Peculiar,' _he thought. _'The sun disappeared. Everything went back to normal, as if none of that had happened.'_

"Youko," Shuichi called as he stopped by a lakeside. The kitsune appeared in seconds next to him. Both looked at the water in front of them. It was slightly rippling, trying to calm itself down and settle the way it was before the impact. Youko scanned the entire area, but saw nothing at all. It looked plain- rocks and fallen trees scattered around the lakeside shore- but somehow quite eerie. Something disturbed the both of them, knowing that something came from the source in the sky.

"There's nothing here," Shuichi said. "All I see is a bunch of rocks, leaves, and trees everywhere."

"I wouldn't count on it," Youko responded. "I 'm pretty sure that something is here. You and I both saw something fall from the source, right?"

"Right."

"And whatever, or whoever it was fell somewhere here, right?"

"I believe so, but it or they could've gone away from this area before we got here."

"Trust me, they're still here." They watched the now calmed water suspiciously, as if expecting it to swallow them in. Just then, the water rippled from the middle of the lake and a body surfaced.

"Oh no!" Shuichi shouted.

"Another human," Youko muttered irritably. In the distance, they could see the person grabbed onto a drifting piece of wood, but didn't move at all. Shuichi called out for that person, but didn't get a response."

"Can it be…?" Shuichi started off, but then notice the person turn their head, revealing their sleeping face. By then they noticed that it was a female.

Shuichi watched as wind slowly began pushing her towards shore. Without hesitation, he made his way through the water, and while slipping off his shoes, jumped in. He swam towards the girl, and grabbed her before she slipped and fell back in. He grabbed onto her and pulled himself towards shore with one arm. From the distance, he could see his counter demon waiting by the shoreline.

He lunged himself out of the water and onto shore. Once he recollected his breath, he settled the girl down gently beside him. Youko knelt down next to her, and checked her pulse.

"She's not dead," he assured. "She's just unconscious."

Shuichi sighed in relief and looked back at the sleeping girl. Her beauty was breathtaking. Her chestnut brown hair had faint red highlights, all of it tied back in a simple ponytail. Her skin was smooth and a bit tanned, though it was hard to tell. She wore a white blouse that exposed a bit of her belly and strapped around the side of her arms below her shoulders. She also wore a long white skirt that ruffled a bit by the rim. On her arms, she wore what seemed to be long white fabric wrapped around from her wrist to above her knee. Above all that, she wore a metal belt tying her skirt just below her belly button. On it, there was a cross.

The girl moaned and turned her head to the side. Shuichi remained speechless as he took his time to memorize the beauty of this girl. He slowly moved his hand onto her, caressing her soft face. Her closed eyes squeezed tightly and she winced a bit. It was then that Shuichi noticed the crimson in addition to all of the pure white attire that she wore.

"She's injured," he said finally and looked at her, showing an expression of concern. The kitsune nodded and summoned herbs next to him, waiting patiently as it grew. When at last it was completed, he pulled it out and lifted her fore body into a slight upright position. He used his thumb to part her lips and put the herms in her mouth.

"Eat it," he instructed, and watched as the girl chewed slowly. Once she swallowed, she coughed. Some water flowed out and splattered onto her chest. She tensed her body as both Youko and Shuichi watched her feel pain. In almost an instant, she calmed herself down and cracked open her eyes. The redhead studied the odd color of them. They were brown, but he could've sworn that he saw crimson mixed with it.

She slowly shifted her gaze to him. "Wh…where am I?" she inquired weakly.

"You're in Demon World," Youko answered as he won her attention. He studied her thoroughly. "What is your name?"

For a moment she didn't answer. Shuichi knew that she probably wasn't sure if she should even answer him. To ease out the uncertainty, he said, "I'm Shuichi Minamino."

"…Rayona," she managed to say before she fell unconscious into the kitsune's arms again. There was another silence. Shuichi repeated the girl's name in his mind, ignoring that fact that the name didn't sound familiar. When he looked up, however, he noticed a bit of confusion shown in Youko's golden orbs.

Shuichi looked back down at Rayona and smiled. "Well, at least she's alright."

Youko continued to study her, and then frowned. "What an unusual name. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything."

"Maybe," Kurama answered, "but it doesn't matter. We should camp here and make sure she gets enough rest, enough for her to recover fully."

"You sound like her mother," Youko commented, completely ignoring the death glare he was given by the human. He smirked as he studied the girl's body and her slender figure. Thoughts swam through his head and ideas appeared like popcorn cooking in a microwave. He was so caught up that he didn't notice the redhead watching him.

"Don't even…think about it," Kurama warned, every word showed the seriousness and anger in his tone of voice. Youko smirked and looked up.

"I'll try." He ignored the death glare expression again and stood up. "We'll set up for camp here and set off tomorrow morning." He turned and looked at the human over his shoulder. "Maybe you should try to keep your hands off of her, too." Shuichi looked up at him with an expression of confusion. "Don't think that I don't notice the way _you're_ looking at her," he explained with a smirk. He then disappeared into the forest and left the redhead there with Rayona.

While grumbling a few words, Shuichi set her into a comfortable position and rested her head on a pile of leaves. _That should be comfortable, _he thought. He then sat next to her, looking up at the clouded sky. His mind swirled with different thoughts, like ideas for what they could do before the day ends. It was only noon. Still, the sly made it seem like it was night all day long.

He frowned as he remembered what Youko told him. _Like I would ever to that to her. I'm more concerned about what he might want to do with her. I'll just have to make sure that he doesn't do anything. _He sighed heavily, laid down, and fell asleep.

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K.S.: (shrug) Don't complain or ask me about the name. That's whatI first named her and don't really want to change it. I might give her a more suitible nickname of some sort. You guys can clue me in on that one. Review please (no flaming!)


	6. Chapter 6

Damn, I died and came back to life. I thought I'd never get to this...

So as you can probably imagine, I've left this story untouched for a long time...hence the updates . ... but after watching episode sof yu yu hakusho with my friends recently and stumbling upon my desktop, I came across this story, and I remembered how I used to be so excited about it. And now, its whatever lol. I was happy to have SOME level of reviewers, but eventually, life kicked in and stopped me from continuing, not to mention I sort of lost interest in the show...sorta. Plus, my writing was kinda amateur-ish. Idk of you can tell the difference in this chapter...I did a little modification, but there is a slight shift in writing style. well, to me

I highly doubt that anyone is still gonna read this, but I promised a chapter 6, so here it is. If I get some response, I _might _put effort into working on this story, but it's definately not gonna go how I originally planned. From what I vaguely remember where this story was going, there are some things I would like to change. It's a good thing this story is at its beginning, though, but I would kind of like to change my OC's attitude _just a bit_, but maybe, if I continue this, her attitude shift will go in sync with the "plot".

So for those who miraculously still care, enjoy the much long awaited chapter 6.

Disclaimer: Dont own yu yu hakusho.

Ch. 6

Nicknames

"…Hey," Shuichi heard a gentle and feminine voice say that woke him from his soundless sleep. The person shook him gently. After moments of allowing himself to wake up, he groaned and cracked his eyes open. His vision at first was blurry, but after rubbing his eyes, he looked up to see Rayona, the new found girl, kneeling down next to him. She smiled warmly. "You are Shuichi, right?"

"Yes," he answered as he sat himself into an upright position. Rayona scooted herself back a bit so that he could have more room. She watched as he studied his surroundings, and then looked back at her. "Are you feeling alright?"

She held her smile. "Oh, much better now. Thank you for saving me yesterday."

"It's nothing," he said. How strange…usually saving someone's live wouldn't be considered as just 'nothing'. Youko sure has rubbed off on him... "I just didn't want someone like yourself to drown in Demon World water."

"So that's where I am," she said while nodding. "I wasn't sure where I had gone ever since I fell off that cliff."

"Cliff?" Shuichi asked. By then, he asked, "Where did you come from?"

Rayona blinked, but did not answer directly. It was like earlier before when she did not answer to Youko by giving him her name. It was quite understandable, though. This girl seemed to be a bit...lost. Shuichi studied her a bit more. He looked deep into her eyes, and mentally confirmed that her brown eyes indeed had crimson mixed in it.

"I…," she began, and then sighed deeply, closed her eyes, tilted her head, and slowly shook it. "I don't remember."

Shuichi blinked. Was this girl even human? If she doesn't know that she could be from Human World, then is she…?

"Ah, you two are finally awake," said an annoyed Youko Kurama who walked towards them with a dead rabbit (let's just say that Demon World has some non-demon animals in it) in his hand. Shuichi was the first to speak.

"Is that supposed to be our dinner, Youko?" he asked as he scanned the dead corpse and stuck out his tongue in disgust. "It doesn't look very appetizing at all, especially not for my kind of tastes."

"Well, you'll just have to deal with it," he retorted and knelt down to start a small fire. Rayona shifted her gaze to the kitsune and watched him as he grumbled a few words for not managing to create a spark. She smiled.

"Allow me," she said while reaching for the sticks and rubbing them hard together, until finally sparks flew and landed into the set-up pile of dried leaves. A small hint of smoke could be seen, and when she blew on it, flames began to rise and build up, burning the pile into crisps. A smile curved at the end of her lips as she looked at Youko, hoping to hear a 'thanks', but instead received an annoyed look. He rolled his eyes and looked the opposite direction. Under his breath he mumbled, "How is it that a female could do that and I couldn't?"

"What's with him?" Rayona asked as she moved to sit next to Shuichi.

"You should expect behavior like this from someone like Youko," was his simple reply. "You can never impress him for doing something. He takes it…as sort of an annoyance and embarrassment by the fact that you could start a fire and he couldn't. He's pretty stubborn, just like how most foxes are. It's in their nature."

"Why don't you shut your mouth before I rip it off your face?" Youko warned and gave a death glare towards the redhead.

Rayona widened her eyes. "So it seems…" she said, following Shuichi's point. "He's also pretty violent. Most demons are…aren't they?"

Shuichi nodded.

"Food will be prepared in thirty minutes," Youko announced. He looked at the girl. "You—go fetch us some fresh water. There's a river less than a mile from here."

"Alright," she said while getting up, and looked back down at the kitsune. "Uhhh...won't it be dangerous for me to go out there alone? Demons could attack me...—"

"Not just that," Youko interrupted, "they can also kill you, rip every piece of flesh from your bones and skin you alive. Oh it would be painful if you were attacked by those kinds of demons. Another strong type would break every bone in your pretty and slender body within just a few seconds like that." He raised his left hand and snapped his fingers on the same moment he said 'that'.

Just as she thought he was done scaring her, he continued. "Oh, and there are some demons out there who look for females just as yourself to rape. Yes...and your appealing figure would sure drive attention of a demon towards you from a mile away."

Rayona paled. "O-oh…," she stuttered and then swallowed hard. "Well then…would one of you accompany me for some protection…please?"

"Of course," Shuichi volunteered as he got up and moved with her into the forest. He cast an angry glare at the kitsune's back before following the girl. Youko turned around, totally missing Shuichi's glare, and watched as they both disappeared into the darkness.

"Tch…they're going to get killed out here, anyways."

Both Rayona and Shuichi walked side-by-side, staying alert in case they spotted something nearby. They hadn't really thought much about what to do if they _were_ to run into a demon that would attack them. Neither spoke about it at first, but then again, they didn't need to discuss it at all. It would've been better if Shuichi was somehow able to summon his rosewhip, but he figured that he lost all of his spirit energy once he arrived here. He theorized a sort of time shift side affect was what had made him so vulnerable to this world. Thank goodness he didn't loose his agility. So, the plans were as followed:

Hide somewhere

Attempt to call Youko for help

Find something on the ground to use as a weapon for fighting back or use combat

…Run

That last one, they figured, would be the one they'd end up doing before they would have time to think over their other options. They'd completely forget everything they thought of, and would only worry about running for their lives. Shuichi also pointed out to Rayona that they should remain quiet the entire time that they searched for water. He figured that it'd be best to not have anything hear them nearby, and then it would be less likely for them to be heard and attacked. Rayona agreed to do so without a word. It would definitely be better than being skinned, eaten, raped (she shivered by that point), or killed.

The silence seemed comforting, yet eerie at the same time. Every time they thought that they hear something growl, groan, or breathe, they would stop and looked around. Once they saw that nothing was there, they would proceed with more caution.

Rayona turned to look at the redhead. He seemed to be the one most alert of them both. His eyes scanned the area, and he turned to face the area from where he heard the smallest sounds and began to tremble a bit.

'_Poor guy,' _she thought. _'He seems to be a little scared. Maybe I could cheer him up a bit.'_

"…Shuichi," she whispered. The redhead turned his head to look at her rather surprisingly. He probably didn't expect to hear her talk after over five minutes of silence. She smiled reassuringly. "It's okay. I know that you must feel scared."

"…A bit," he admitted silently. "Let's speak in whispers from now on."

Rayona nodded. "Alright."

Shuichi smiled the best he could. "Well, I just want to make sure that neither of us gets hurt here. It is quite a cruel world in Demon World, and it's pretty hard to protect yourself if you're not strong enough. Basically, one needs strength to survive at a place like this."

"I see." Rayona then looked to her left, and stopped.

The redhead also stopped and looked at her confusingly. "Rayona?"

"Did you hear that?" she asked as she glanced at him, and then back to her left. She pointed at the cluster of tress and shrubs in the area. "It sounds like rushing water over there. If we're lucky, it may be a river with the fresh water we need."

Shuichi looked to where she was looking at. He waited patiently for the same sound she heard to come to his ears, but he heard nothing. It was deathly silent, save for his breathing, and he couldn't hear the rushing water.

"I don't hear anything," he pointed out in a whisper. "Maybe you heard something else."

Rayona shook her head. "No…I'm sure that it's water, and it's that way." Without another word, she began walking towards that direction, leaving Shuichi standing in the clearing all by himself. He looked around the area for a last check to make sure nothing was following, and then ran to catch up with Rayona.

She moved forward with a determined look on her face. Still, Shuichi was unsure, for the more they walked, the less he believed that there was a river. He couldn't hear anything the closer they walked. After three minutes of walking, he felt that there was nothing nearby.

"Rayona," he whispered, "there's nothing here."

"Yes there is," she pointed out without looking at him. "I can hear it. We're closer. It's just up ahead. I'm sure of it."

A minute later, Shuichi finally heard the rushing water. He perked his head up from looking at Rayona and saw the river in view from in between the trees ahead of both of them. Once they cut through some of them, they both saw the river. The redhead couldn't believe it. She was right; there was a river here.

But how? He didn't hear a thing until half a minute ago, and they've been walking for five minutes!

"How did you hear the river?" he asked as he looked at the brunette girl. "It was probably half a mile away, and it's not even that loud. It's not possible for a human to hear from that far away!"

Rayona laughed nervously. "Uh well, I guess you were right about the part of me hearing something else. I was actually following my instincts more than my hearing. It wasn't until a minute of walking that I heard it."

"But that's still pretty far away," he pointed out. "Certainly a human couldn't have such excessive hearing. Only a demon or another creature could hear from that far."

The girl rubbed the back of her head, twisted her ponytail, and looked away. "Let's just get the water," she said, changing the subject. "I'm pretty sure that Youko is wondering where we are. We have been gone for quite a while."

Shuichi smiled. "He probably thinks we're dead by now. That would usually be the first thing that pops in his head."

Rayona laughed. "Maybe."

Both moved out of the trees until they stood at the edge of the river. It glistened brightly even though there was not that much sunlight. The water flowed towards the northwest, they assumed, well, at least Shuichi assumed. They marveled the sight of the beautiful river in a place like Demon World. It was probably hard to find beauty in such an eerie place, so they were surprised to see how the river looked to them. It was then that Rayona realized something.

"What are we going to bring the water back to camp in?"

Shuichi blinked and looked at her. He hadn't thought about that. It never really crossed his mind on how to bring the water back with them. "Uh, I don't really know. We should find something to carry it with." He looked around, and then paused as he gazed across the shore right passed the brunette.

"…Shuichi?" she called. "What is it?"

He didn't reply. Finally, the girl turned around to see what he was looking at. She froze once she saw what he was staring at. Up ahead was what looked like a campsite. There were four or five tents set up in a small cluster, one of the bigger than the others. A stream of smoke came out of a small hole in it, and there was a wooden table outside with a series of different objects on them.

"What the," Shuichi said silently. "Someone must be there."

"Maybe not," Rayona stated. "I don't hear or sense anyone there. The demons who camped there are probably gone somewhere else. We could probably go over there to find a bucket or some canteens to carry the water in."

The redhead shook his head. "I don't think that we should even consider going there. It's too risky…"

Rayona shook her head. "We'll have to take the chance, anyways. Besides, Youko would be very upset with us if we return without water and tell him that we were too cautious about searching an empty camp for something to carry it back in."

Shuichi was about to protest once again but then remained silent and nodded in approval. The girl was right...it was unwise to upset someone like Youko. He should know; he shared the same body and mind with the fox spirit, or _used _to anyways. Rayona smiled reassuringly, showing that everything would be alright. With a heavy sigh, Rayona walked along the shore of the river, studying the depths of the water. She was obviously looking for a shallow area to walk across. After a few minutes of searching, she found a shallow enough area and turned to the redhead.

"I found a way to cross!" she announced.

Shuichi smiled but still felt uneasy about her going across. He watched as the girl lifted her white skirt with both hands, grasping the bottom portions of her dress in tight fists, and raised it high enough for her feet to feel the freedom of stepping in the water without clumsily tripping on the fabric. She steadily walked across without much trouble. _'Maybe she did find a good enough area to walk across,'_ he thought.

Rayona finally reached the other end of the shore. She let her dress fall down freely once more and looked at Shuichi from the other side. The redhead nodded, showing that he saw the coast was clear, and secretly felt relieved that nothing bad had happened yet…so far…

The girl scampered towards the tents silently, almost as quiet as a mouse. She scanned the area, hoping to find something useful. Finally, her eyes caught sight of something.

"Here!" she exclaimed excitedly and skipped over towards behind a tent and pulled out a large bucket. "This looks good enough!"

"It should do," Shuichi called back. "Come now! Youko's probably impatient by now!"

The brunette nodded. "Okay!"

Shuichi started to feel more uneasy and uncomfortable by the second. Something just didn't feel right. It was hard for him to decipher what it was, but there was something in the air that seemed to bug him a lot. His emerald green eyes scanned the area, looking to see if there were any intruders spying on them. It seemed as if they were alone, but he couldn't help but have this feeling that was hard to shake off…

'…_A demon? It must be,'_ the redhead mused. What else could be bugging him? As far as He knew, demons were really the only things that could be a threat to them right now. Actually, it was basically the _ONLY_ thing that could be a threat to them right now.

"…ichi? Shuichi?"

The feminine voice seemed to have drawn Shuichi out of his train of thought and back to reality. "Oh, sorry. Did you say something?"

Rayona nodded. "Well, you kind of spaced out for a little bit right now. Is something the matter?"

The redhead sighed. He really didn't want to worry her about his uneasiness in anyway, so he felt it to be better if he didn't tell her. "No," he lied while smiling. "I'm fine. I'm still just a bit tired, that's all."

"Oh, okay," Rayona said, but Shuichi could see the curiosity and worry glinting in her brownish-red eyes. "Well then, shall we fill this bucket with water and carry it back towards the camp?"

Shuichi nodded and smiled. "Sure thing."

During the entire walk, Shuichi still felt very uneasy. It was embarrassing to him, quite frankly. In his time period, meaning not being stuck in the past with his demon counterpart and a human—it was hard to him to _really _say that she was human—girl, he was the very wise and clever one of his Reikai Tantei (sp?) group. He seemed to know his strategies while in the middle of any type of battle, and was always calm and usually confident in his rosewhip and Youko spirit.

But now…with no power at hand, his confidence wasn't as high as usual. Sure, he still considered some other resourceful strategies for fighting with just fists, but even he knew that it wouldn't be very effective.

Shuichi sighed and tried to calm his nerves by focusing on the unusual yet relaxing tune Rayona was silently humming to herself. At first he tried to identify what song it could be from all the music he'd hear on the radio or at one of Yusuke's little parties where he'd blast the speakers with his dance music, but finally gave in when nothing came to mind. He had the urge to ask her what she was humming for a while before he thought that it wasn't really important to know, anyways. He _was_ looking for an answer, and that was the answer to the whole reason of why he was here.

Once again, Rayona stopped walking and ceased to hum the relaxing tune. This troubled the redhead for the girl was carrying the bucket filled with water and it looked quite heavy. Whenever he asked if she needed any help, she'd just smile and shake her head. He could easily tell that she was struggling, though, since she kept tensing up while pulling the bucket higher.

He figured that she finally gave in. "…Would you like me to hold it now?"

"Shh!" Rayona commanded while placing once finger to her lips and giving him a grim look. She then turned back to the trees and scanned the vicinity.

The redhead understood now. Demon. There must be one nearby. He then stood in fighting stance and scanned the area, ready for anything that might come.

"Over there," Rayona whispered while pointing to a clutter of bushes.

Shuichi's eyes averted to that area, and tensed a bit when he saw that the bushes were shaking. He could tell that Rayona was also scared and they both slowly backed up. Rayona scanned the area as she tiptoed back, and then leaned down to grab a thick branch, ditching the bucket to grab the found 'weapon' with both hands. At one point, she decided to drop the bucket of water, not fully aware if it had spilled or not.

But it didn't matter; they managed to get caught in the very likely situation both of them had dreaded encountering...

Rayona leaned back against the tree, Shuichi standing close by her. Once again, he felt vulnerable to the situation. He pulled out yet another rose and tried to concentrate his energy so that he could summon up his trusty rose whip. After making the silent command, the transformation failed again. The rose merely reflected some energy before backfiring and wilting in his hand.

"Still nothing..."

The brunette girl turned and looked at him. "What's the matter?"

Shuichi grunted. "My rose whip won't summon itself...it's as if something has restrained me from allowing me to summon up any energy."

Rayona gave him a suspicious look. "...Something's holding your energy back?"

He looked up at her with a rather surprised look. "Yes, it seems so."

The girl had this look on her face that Shuichi translated as knowing something he didn't. Perhaps by some turn of events she knew what was wrong with him. Granted, the likely hood of that being possible was very slim, but lately, Shuichi has encountered the impossible in several different ways, and it all started with a strange encounter with an evil stranger...

"...You know what's restraining my energy," Shuichi concluded.

Rayona had turned her head to the side as she looked out for the approaching demon.

Shuichi tried again, but he still kept his voice in a whisper. "You know why I can't summon up any of my attacks, and why I can't summon up my rose whip, don't you?"

She quickly glanced back at his direction. "I have a vague idea, but I don't fully understand it myself. I too feel like I've been restrained from using my energy, as well."

He gasped. "You're no ordinary human then...!"

In the involuntary event of Shuichi raising his voice, the tree they were hiding behind completely shattered in half when a powerful force collided with the tree on the opposite side. Both Shuichi and Rayona were sent flying forward to the ground along with the rest of the destroyed debris from the tree. A shrill screech followed in the wake of the sudden destruction.

'_This isn't good,'_ Shuichi thought as he forced his injured body to stand.

Another tall apparition stood tall over the two as it lifted one of its muscular arms and prepared for another strike. This time, it was aiming for the standing redhead. Before he was hit, Shuichi jumped out of the way, landing nearby Rayona's fallen figure.

He prodded her with his heel. "Rayona, are you alright?"

The girl was unresponsive at first; but when the apparition quickly reappeared besides him, the redhead was caught off guard and tripped over the girl he stood by. In that event, brunette was able to regain consciousness. She paused and registered what had happened before realizing the danger of the situation.

"Shuichi!" she screamed as she tried to scramble back on her feet.

The apparition screeched once more and raised its mighty fist for another attack, but then it froze in its place before it could make another move. Rayona stared back at it fearfully, and soon recognized the shock painted on the demon's face. A few seconds later, her mind began to register before she lowered her gaze down to its body and spotted an object that had impaled its abdomen from behind. Oddly, the weapon looked familiar. The demon let out another agonizing cry before its corpse collapsed.

Rayona felt both shocked and relieved when she spotted a panting redhead standing behind where their attacker stood. Some of the demon's blood now coated his arms and parts of his abdomen. Aside from that, he appeared to be unharmed, save for some scratches when he fell after the first attack. "Are you alright, Rayona?"

The girl looked at him and then back at the demon that had landed on the ground face down. "So...you used the weapon that I had found."

"It proved to serve us usefully," Shuichi added with a smile.

The girl smiled back. "I guess it did. Thank God for that..."

Shuichi extended a helping hand to her. Rayona looked at him for a moment before she accepted it and allowed him to help her back to her feet. She stood there for another minute before the shock of the entire situation could finally wear off. Shuichi was able to recover from it faster than her, however.

"Well this is something; seems as if we still have some water in this basket after all, even after we got ambushed."

Rayona looked over at him and then at the bucket he now held. "Well, then that must be some kind of miracle..." She smiled and was immediately comforted by the thought of luck being on their side. Luck could have very well been what saved their lives...

"Somehow, I never thought that I'd ever see the two of you again," was the first thing Youko Kurama said to them as they reentered the clearing to their temporary campsite. "I assumed that you signed your death wishes by marching on alone into the depths of the Demon World forest. But," he smirked, "I can't imagine that it was a walk in the park either. The two of you look like you were caught in battle."

Rayona dropped the half full bucket by the fire. "This world is a dangerous place, yes. It seems like you don't really care for our well-beings, yet you shelter us and protect us when we're with you..." She eyed the youko in a way that made him growl. "It's kind of strange, but I guess we should be grateful that someone wants to be our knight and shining armor when he wants to be..."

"Trust me, sweetness, I don't have the slightest care for your life or Shuichi's, but that doesn't mean that I might not make you two my slaves. Shuichi seems to be useful when he wants to be, and you, my dear, could serve me in several ways, as well." The kitsune licked his lips as he eyed her from head to toe.

The brunette looked away. "I don't believe I could ever care to serve a _demon_. As far as I know, demons aren't to be trusted. But for some reason, Shuichi seems to trust you, so I trust you, as well."

"Flattered," Youko replied sarcastically. "I've always wanted two humans to serve me with at least a minimum level of trust to their master."

"That is most definitely not how I put it," Rayona retorted as she sat down by the campfire comfortably right beside Shuichi. "Humans are not vessels of demon commands, nor are they slaves to those who wish to use them for their own benefits. Some might be loyal to you and serve as you please, but there will be those who will turn against you and try to kill you before you fully reign over their life."

"I call those humans foolish," Youko remarked.

Rayona looked at him with a hint or surprise. "Really...? I call them self-respected. They stand up for themselves..."

The youko looked back at the flames. "Tch," he spat under his breath as he tossed in more firewood. "Their master must have control. A revolt only results in lack of control. When you lack that class of order, you are more likely to die by the hands of your own slaves, and that leaves a mark of dishonor and foolishness on the master."

"It is better to be feared than loved," Shuichi stated. Both the kitsune and the brunette were shocked to hear a remark from the redhead since he had stayed quiet ever since he and Rayona returned from their unfortunate encounter. However shocking it was to hear him speak, what he said also left both of them thinking. Shuichi's statement was profound, in a sense, because it was true, especially here in the Demon World.

Rayona nodded. "And that is the easiest way a master can manipulate his servant."

Youko glared at the backs of the girl and the redhead. In fact, what Shuichi had said _was_ true. Here he was with two humans in his captivity, yet he hasn't come to bring himself to threaten those whose lives were meaningless to him. But he still held that odd feeling that Shuichi and he had some sort of connection, and there was something about the girl that also caught his interest. There were times when he would feel large pockets of energy emitting from the girl, but then they'd disappear before he could fully recognize it. It was strange, but it made him wonder what kind of humans they were...

The youko studied his right hand carefully, noting the demonic energy that coursed within him. He had the power and technically could do whatever he pleased. With a satisfied smirk, he caressed the tree he stood in front of and transferred some of that demonic energy into its bark. Within a matter of seconds, the energy passed from plant to plant, and soon he gained control of the vegetation surrounding them. There, now nothing could attempt to ambush them without the kitsune knowing about it first.

"By the way," he began as he made his way back to the campfire, "I really don't like your name, girl. It seems very unsuiting for you."

Rayona turned to look at him. "How unfortunate. Care to give me a sort of nickname then?"

"Besides my newest sex toy?" he grinned.

The brunette froze before color could resurface to her cheeks. "U-um, what...?"

The demon fox chuckled. "Nevermind. I wasn't supposed to say that one out loud."

The redhead sent the kitsune a warning glance. "You should learn to be more careful with your words, Youko. Some of it isn't very humorous. I guess that's why you have so many enemies..."

"I don't try to be 'humorous'," Youko retorted with a glare thrown right back at the redhead. "And besides, my enemies only despise me because I am infamous for taking what is theirs." He smirked.

Rayona looked back into the flames. "Hmm, well aside from being humorous, what other name would you find fitting?"

"Anything short and sweet," Youko remarked. "…how about Rona?"

The brunette chuckled. "I've been called that before, once. It wasn't one of my favorite nicknames, but it was better than other names I've been called."

"Care to share some?"

"I'd rather not..."

The youko chuckled and settled himself against a tree, still sitting close enough to the campfire to feel the heat keep him warm. "How amusing. I guess there's a lot for me to learn about you then...Rona."

The brunette smiled. "I guess so."

Shuichi continued to study the brunette girl discreetly. He still couldn't shake off what he had told her, that she, too, had energy just as him. Sure, with the exception with his teammates Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara, humans weren't gifted with channeling their energy. In fact, people were unaware that they could control their chakras, so it was shocking for him to hear her speak of it as if it was nothing...

But she didn't seem like an enemy. Shuichi looked back at the fire. Obviously, as Youko said, there was a lot to learn about this girl.

"...Goodnight Shuichi."

"Hmm?" The redhead blinked in surprised and looked over at the girl as she laid herself down by the campfire. "Oh...goodnight, Rona."

She giggled. "I see you like that nickname too...goodnight."

As soon as she drifted off to sleep, Shuichi prepared himself to do the same. Battling a demon in an early-aged Demon World could be terribly exhausting...

But then there was a strange moment that occurred. It was brief, yet it seemed profound to both Shuichi and Youko. It only took a little glance. As Shuichi settled himself into a comfortable resting position, he found himself staring over towards the demon fox's direction. Now, he was well aware of Youko's animal instincts, but for a moment, he was suddenly so self absorbed that he didn't think of catching his eye. So when Youko caught and met his gaze, an unexplainable connection ran through between them. It was a sort of feeling that said, "I knew...". It was as if they both knew how they were interconnected. But the connection was broken when Youko's ear twitched and he instinctively turned away to see what had made the noise.

Shuichi had to blink several times before he realized that he was dazed. Youko seemed to have also snapped out of whatever they had been interlocked in. With disappointment settling in, the redhead laid down on his back and closed his eyes.

But before he drifted off into sleep, he thought he heard Youko mumble, "...That was weird..."

K.S. I'd like to thank Runelesca for the nickname suggestion(:

[a little late, i know...]

Please review.


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